Building a Smart Flowerpot Base with an ESP32

 

 

 

 

Indoor plants are great, until you forget to water them, or you are standing there trying to guess if the soil is actually dry. I wanted something simple that answered that question without an app, notifications, or a smart home setup.

This project is a small smart flowerpot base that monitors soil moisture and shows outdoor weather on a small display. I built it through a Colorado School of Mines Labriola Innovation Hub mini-grant, using campus spaces and materials. It came together slowly, moving back and forth between electronics, design, and fabrication.

The electronics were the starting point. I knew I wanted something compact and WiFi-enabled, which pushed me toward an ESP32. Once that decision was made, the project naturally moved toward a custom PCB. Even though the circuit is simple, getting off a breadboard made everything feel more deliberate and less temporary.

Early PCB versions were designed in EasyEDA and milled in Labriola using the Bantam Tools PCB mill. Thanks to the Labriola, I was able to create a PCB without waiting for shipping, manufacturing etc.  Once milled, I could easily solder all the components together, and test it's functionality.  

 

 

 

 

As soon as the electronics had a physical form, the focus shifted to how the project would sit in a real space. I did not want it to feel like a plastic electronics project. That is where the wood came in.

The wood used for the base came from scrap material provided by the Mines Mining Competition Team, which I am a part of. Using that material tied the project back to a team and space that I already spend a lot of time in.

The boards were cut and trimmed in the Labriola woodshop, using the band saw to bring them down to size and clean up the edges. This step was less about precision and more about feel. The weight and texture of the wood changed how the project felt immediately.

 

Between the two wooden plates sits a 3D-printed enclosure that holds the electronics and display. I designed the enclosure in SolidWorks, focusing on keeping it simple and hidden once assembled. It only exists to support the hardware and let the wood do most of the visual work.

Once everything was together, I could assemble the parts into one unit. 

 

What I like most about this project is that it feels finished without trying to be a product. It is not optimized or polished for scale. It is just a well-considered object that solves a small problem.

Having access to the Labriola Innovation Hub, the woodshop, the makerspace, and the mini-grant made that possible. It allowed me to move naturally between design, electronics, and fabrication without over-complicating the project.

All of the design files and code are available on the GitHub repository for anyone who wants to look deeper.